10 Things I Love About Living In Porto Alegre, Brazil

On Wednesday I will have been in Brazil for exactly one year. In that time, I've been asked about my thoughts on Brazil dozens of times and specifically people asking me why I'm here. Even when I let people know the one (obvious) major reason why I'm here, people seem to think that I must hate it here. That is far from the truth. 

There are a lot of reasons to love life in Brazil. Here's a few of the big ones.

This Is My Wife's Home

Obviously the number one thing I love about living in Porto Alegre is that this is where my wife is. She is the reason I’m here and - despite plenty of other things on this list - really the only reason I still am. Getting a chance to live in her home city, get to know her friends and family and the culture she is from has been an amazing experience. One that I wouldn’t change.

There Is Some Great Food - And Heaps Of It

If you’re hungry, Brazil - and in particular Porto Alegre - is the place to be. Everything seems to be ‘all you can eat’ with ‘buffet livres’ on just about every corner. 

Of course the best food here is Churrasco. While the rest of the world knows it as “Brazilian Barbeque, Brazilians know that Gauchos do it better than anyone. 

While variety isn’t the best for dining here, there are some very good restaurants offering Peruvian, Spanish and even Australian food. 

Craft Beer Scene

I’ve mentioned before that the standard beer sold here in Brazil is almost undrinkable. Luckily though, for the last few years the country has been going through a craft brewery boom, meaning there are heaps of places to get a good pint. It can be pretty expensive (most of the ingredients have to be imported) but the result is some genuinely great beer. Life is too short to drink bad beer!

Brazilians Are Really Friendly

Pretty much everyone I’ve met since I’ve been in Brazil has been incredibly welcoming and friendly. While in Rio recently for the Olympics a crowd of dozens of strangers gave me a round of applause for simply being Australian. While everyone was obviously happy during the Olympics, I’ve found people all over Brazil are really interested in knowing more about me and making me feel as welcome as possible.

Brazilians Love To Share

One of the truly great things about Brazilians is that they tend to do things together. So many of their traditions are done as a group, rather than as individuals or couples. Look around a park in Porto Alegre and you’ll see groups of people passing around the chimarrão. At a party they’ll be doing the same with the national alcoholic drink, Caipirinha. 

Here in Porto Alegre, friends and family of my wife couldn’t wait to invite me over to their house or to a park to enjoy a real Gaúcho churrasco. 

Open Container Laws

In most parts of Australia (and the world) it is illegal to drink alcohol on the streets or other public places. That isn’t the case in Brazil. Here, you’re allowed to drink pretty much everywhere (except for at football games…). This makes celebrating anything so much easier. Pop up street parties and festivals don’t have to worry about licensing regulations and with people selling beers pretty much everywhere during any major event, you don’t have to worry about queuing anywhere to buy overpriced beer from official vendors. 

Paçoca Is Amazing!

Brazil has some very tasty treats from pão de queijo (cheese bread) to brigadeiros. But my favourite by far is the crumbly peanut butter like snacks known as paçoca. They’re amazing. They’re kind of a drier, more solid version of peanut butter, but also sweeter and make for the perfect snack. Unfortunately at times I like them a little too much. Interestingly, for a country with this as one of it’s major snacks, they don’t seem to like actual peanut butter much (and when they do, its usually too sweet and overpriced)

Cidade Baixa Feels Like Home

Porto Alegre has some nice neighborhoods. The historic downtown area has some nice colonial era buildings and Moinhos de Vento has some great bars. But by far the best neighborhood in town is Cidade Baixa. This area could easily be a suburb of Melbourne and is definitely the closest thing to home I’ve found in Brazil. It has dozens of bars, cafes and restaurants, many of which are the best in town. Within a few blocks you know there’ll be somewhere to get a good coffee, great craft beer and a good feed. 

Cheap Limes

This may seem trivial but I love limes. Paying up to a couple of dollars per lime in Australia (I’ve seen it) hurts my heart. Here you can buy limes for virtually nothing which means you can use them in everything - like you should. Overall the cost of living for an expat here is pretty good, but if you’re relying on local jobs, then all of a sudden things start to feel different. 

Brazilians Love To Party

Nobody celebrates like Brazilians. Carnaval is obviously one of the biggest parties in the world, but any time you get a bunch of Brazilians together to celebrate they're going to do it right. There'll be good food, plenty of drinks and obviously copious amounts of dancing. 

Anyone who saw the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has a good idea of how hard these people can go. Singing and dancing for hours on end is just par for the course here. 

Bonus - Top Five Things To Do In Porto Alegre